Lengthening Your Curtains DIY

My apartment looks straight across a skinny alley into someone else's kitchen. After a few awkward encounters (picture me waving at strangers while they cooked, or Tom Cruise's scene from Risky Business lip-sync-dancing in my tighty whities), my options became 1) keep the blinds of my studio closed and live in a dungeon or 2) buy some kind of curtain.

News flash: curtains are expensive. And also, you're supposed to measure the window before you buy. 

After a long time of speculation and non-measuring, I found myself in the curtain aisle at Target yet again in a fluster, decided to screw it, picked up three packs of curtains that "I bet are the right length" and marched them home. It seemed crazy expensive, but for a while my problems were solved! But, shortly after I threw away the receipt and packaging, my friend came over and said "aren't curtains supposed to hit the floor?"

Ummm,..... What? Are they? I don't know! So I researched. And most do. And I became kind of obsessed with it. The idea haunted me like three soft, white, 95 inch, fluffy ghosts. Every blog I read, every Apartment Therapy post I stalked, floor length curtains were everywhere, and mine fluttered softly 1.5 feet above the ground. Then the blog gods smiled on me and I stumbled upon a post about lengthening curtains. & even though Katie only needed a few extra inches, and I needed several more feet, I realized it was doable, and I could either give it a try or spend one hundred more dollars on new curtains.

So.......  with a seam ripper I removed the bottom seam of my curtains and then measured the amount of length I needed, width and height, to get to the floor. At JoAnn's Craft and Fabric Store I picked two fabrics I wanted to layer at the bottom of my curtains and an "apparel trim" (but it took me a few trips around the store to find out they were called that) to add to the very bottom. I got all those cut at the cutting station for enough fabric for my three windows (little tip: you have to pull a number, like the deli, to get in line at the cut station). At home, I used fiskers to cut and pin together the first curtain and sloooooowwwwly stitch the entire thing together. It took f.o.r.e.v.e.r. I'm not kidding. Ten hours. TEN. After I finally finished I decided there had to be an easier way, and I ordered stitch witchery on Amazon. 

It saved me like, a million hours. Basically, it's magic. You cut your stitch witchery like it's scotch tape. Then put it between your fabrics, and with the wool setting on your iron, and a damp cloth on top of both fabrics, press down firmly. Let it dry. Then you're good! Even with a small table top ironing board, it cut about 16 hours off my time. 

Seam Ripper: $3
2 yards of fabric one: 9.99/yard = $20
2 yards of fabric two: 14.99/yard = $30
4 yards of lace apparel trim: $20
Stitch Witchery: $4.36
Iron: borrowed
Total: $77.36

As it turns out, it would have been around the same price for me to just buy new curtains. But, I still feel really proud of my creation, and I'm not sure what I would have done with three old curtains stuck in my closet, anyway. Plus, like all my DIY's, I love that these are completely custom made and  no one else in the world has them. I would encourage you to give it a try! 

Let me know if you do! xox

^^^ with stitching.

^^^ with stitch witchery.

^^ blurry... it's hard to balance on a stool with your camera in the air above your head 😋

P.S. This is what the curtains used to look like. 

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Photos: Nikon D3200 35mm and kit lens; Edits: Adobe Lightroom / Chair: Move Loot / Side Table: DIY / Pillow: JoAnn's / Rug: Rugs USA / Lamp: Ikea 

DIY Hack: Class Up Your Table with Hairpin Legs

When I moved across the country, I sold all my furniture and had to start completely anew. I would say that's when I realized I have an affinity for modern interiors. What was the first clue? Hairpin legs. 

After a few months in my little SF studio, I had saved enough money to find a table. Eventually, I decided to build one myself, to fit the needs of my small space, and I just knew I wanted hairpin legs. Of course, as I'm sure all my twenty-something readers will understand, I only have so much in my monthly budget to alot to furniture. At the time I wrote this post, I had spent the monthly budget on my kitchen table top and was using cheap Ikea desk legs to hold it up. But when the new month hit, you better believe I spent my entire apartment budget on four hairpin legs. 

I had them sent to my office, and after one particularly difficult commute home on Caltrain/Muni/1.5 mile walk (my box weighed 20 pounds 😳), it turned out to be a very easy switch. I flipped the table over so the legs were in the air. Then I removed the three wood screws holding each Ikea leg to my table top, and swapped them into each hairpin leg. I can't tell you how THRILLED I am with the result. Not only is my table taller now, it just look so much better! The light, slim outline of these hairpin legs is not to be taken for granted in my small space.

It was such an easy process to replace my kitchen table legs. If you're ever looking for a change of pace, I would definitely suggest the switch! Let me know if you do. xox

p.s. I found my legs at hairpinlegs.com. I have since learned about hairpinlegsforless.com and think it's worth checking out. Happy swapping!

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Photos: Nikond3200 35mm and kit lens; Edits: Adobe Lightroom / Table top: DIY / Table legs: hairpinglegs.com (28 inch, 3 Rod Leg in raw steel) / Stendig Calendar: gifted / Stools: Amazon  

DIY Easy Tree Slice Side Table

I love craft and office supplies stores. Kinda weird, I know. Lucky for me, I pass a Michael's every day on the mile walk between my office and Caltrain station and often find a reason to stop inside. One day I found these wooden slabs, and though I didn't know what I was going to do with it, I bought one. My first plan was to make a hanging side table. Then, wait, serving tray. Wait, wait, maybe a cheese plate?

Finally, I landed on small side table and got to it.

The tree slice came pre-sanded with natural bark along the outside. Spoiler: dry tree bark is pretty flakey. I used a coarse grit sand paper (100) to take off the top coat of bark along the sides and a fine grit sand paper (220) to sand down the top as an extra precaution. Admittedly, I didn't do great research, so I didn't know basswood soaks up stain supahhhhh fast. In retrospect, I should have probably conditioned it ahead of time, but instead, I went straight to the ebony stain and it turned the wooden tree slice PITCH BLACK.  

I immediately tried to wipe it off, but couldn't get much. So, I let it dry overnight and used several pieces of sandpaper to lighten the coat in the morning. I didn't love it, but couldn't turn back. So, I added three coats of matte polyurethane to the top and bark (two hours apart with light 220 grit sanding in between) and let it set for 48 hours. 

Two days later, it was looking much better :D The matte polyurethane really lightened it up. I lightly sanded the whole thing one last time, wiped it down with a wood conditioner and attached the  21" tripod stand I bought online with four 3/4 inch wood screws. 

BOOM. A one weekend wooden tree slice side table. 

Round Wooden Tree Plaque (Michaels): $11
Multi Pack Sand Paper (Discount Builder Supplies): Had
Tripod Stand (hairpinlegs.com): $36.50
Ebony stain (Home Depot): Had
Matte Polyurethane (Home Depot): Had
Goat Hair Brush (Home Depot): Had
Wood Screws (Nob Hill Hardware): Had
Wood Conditioner: Borrowed
Total: $47.50

Photos: Nikon D3200 Kit Lens / Edits: Adobe Lightroom

Contact Paper & Temporary Fixes for Apartment Cupboards

In an apartment, there's only so much you can do to change a space. You can drill into the wall -- as long as you're familiar with a can of spackle. You can add furniture, with pads on the legs. You can remove doors, if you add them back on before you leave. You can also add temporary wall paper. 

Remember this? A few weeks ago I added shelves under my cupboard. Almost as soon as I posted that first post, I realized I wanted to add contact paper to this space. The semi-painted, semi-stained wall had so much more potential than I was utilizing.

So right away, I bought 9 feet of this contact paper on Amazon for $3. I will say, that, while I love the contact paper, I probably should have cleaned the wall beforehand.  My paper seems to be separating, and I think its from all the dust :/. At Target this weekend I DID see lots of contact paper and temporary wall paper in the clearance section and they all seemed like great options for a 10 minute project like this.

But, the moral of the story is, nowadays, I find myself opening this cupboard even when I don't have. So, no matter the manner, I think temporary contact paper is a GREAT way to make apartment life work for you. 

DIY Dining Table for a Small Apartment

Small apartment life! As you may know I recently moved to San Francisco and my studio apartment is pretty little. How small? 300some square feet (in SF it's apparently illegal for rental companies to reveal the actual size, so I don't know the real measurements. Weird). 

In this small space I have some uniquely sized walls to work with. I knew I wanted a real dining table, but I couldn't find what I wanted on craigslist. Especially one that fit my one free wall. Luckily, my sister Claire recently built her own kitchen table and inspired me to do the same :D

I bought two pine wood common boards at the Discount Builder's Supply Store. On a side note, the hardware stores here have everything you could ever need: hand soap, frying pans, water bottles, coffee grinders, baking dishes, toilet cleaner, humidifiers and fans. I don't know why, but I find this so unique. Anyway, they cut the boards to exactly the size I needed. I used wood glue to sandwich these together so I could have a nice thick table top. I chose the prettiest side (top) and faced it down on the ground. On the "uglier" side (bottom), I screwed 30 wood screws in four rows down the length for extra wood glue support. With 4 C-clamps I clamped the two glued boards together for 48 hours. 

After two days I removed the clamps and sanded the whole thing down using 3 grains of sand paper working from coarsest (100 grit) to finest (220). I bought four really cheap adjustable desk legs from Ikea and screwed those to the bottom of my table top, stood it up and added 1 coat of Ebony stain. It sat for about 7 minutes before I wiped the excess off with a clean towel and let it dry overnight. Next, I added three coats of matte polyurethane over the course of two days, sanding lightly in between. Finally, I applied a wood conditioner and let it dry for 20 minutes and my table was complete!

I moved into my apartment three months ago and, til this point, have been eating all my meals in bed or picnic style on the floor -- the former was becoming a not so great habit, and the ladder tends to hurt my bum. I might be biased but I LOVE MY TABLE. All in all, it took five days to complete and I was able to do the whole thing (even the polyurethane) in my tiny apartment (with the windows open).

2 one inch pine boards: $80
Wood Glue: had
4 C-clamps: had
30 1.25 inch wood screws: $8(ish)
4 Ikea legs: $16
1 multi pack sandpaper: $3
1 goat hair brush: $7
1 can Ebony Stain: $8
1 can Matte Polyurethane: $11
Wood Conditioner: borrowed from my sister :D
Total cost: $133

Wanna see what it looked like before the stain? Just peek underneath the table ;D Someday when I don't need a dining option for multiple days I might take the legs off and stain it. Maybe. p.s. don't mind my messy apartment! Usually I try to push my disorganization out of the picture frame, but, whatevz. Welcome to my real life :)

Photos: Nikond3200 / Edits: VSCO filters for lightroom